Protecting intangible cultural heritage

Women are central to the maintenance and vitality of culture in societies worldwide. Their roles in relation to intangible heritage are of particular significance, and encompasses what may be described as fundamental realms of culture, which are often indispensable in maintaining and transmitting traditional knowledge, cultural identity and familial and cohesive social relations. They include, but are not restricted to language, codes of ethics, behavioural patterns, value systems, and religious beliefs. In most cultures, women play the principle role in raising children through which the intergenerational transmission and renewal of many forms of intangible heritage occurs.